Gork and Mork
“Greenskins worship the Blood God. I saw it in their eyes. Delight, that’s what it was. Delight as they spilled the blood of my family. I say kill them all.” ::—Heimar Orcreaver, Mercenary Captain. The Greenskins worship brothers, Mork and Gork, who are Orcs writ large. They fight each other, and any other Gods, for dominance, and may even challenge living Orcs who draw their attention. The worship of these deities appears to involve idols formed from excrement, as well as violence and the sacrifice of prisoners, cowards, and rivals who do not get out of the way quickly enough. Overview :“Any Human who would worship the Gods of the Greenskins would also worship the Ruinous Powers. Worshippers of either should meet the same fate.” ::—Semund the Unswerving, Investigator for the Order of the Cleansing Flame. Gork and Mork are the twin Gods of the Greenskin race, each one representing two of the most defining characteristics of the Orcs and Goblins. Similar to the other sentient races of the Warhammer World, the Greenskins seem to believe and have created a different pairing of Gods that usually embodies that races baser instincts and emotions. As these emotions begins to manifest within the Realm of Chaos, they form into twin deities which nearly every Greenskin would instantly recognised as Gork and Mork. These two Gods of War embodies that species cunning and brutality. In the Greenskins use of words, Gork is brutally cunning, while Mork is cunningly brutal. To put it simply, Gork is the embodiment of brutality and close-quarters combat, whilst his twin Mork embodies cunning and the use of unconventional tactics of warfare. As these distinctions can readily be seen between the Orcs and Goblins, it is very common for Orcs to worships Gork's brutality over Mork's cunning, just as much as Goblins prefer Mork's cunning over Gork's brutality. Usually however, most Greenskins can never understand the difference, and at times consider the twin Gods as one of the same. Nevertheless, these twin Gods of War are always readily worshipped by all Greenskins in almost equal measure, with many Shamans having the ability to interpret the Twins wishes and demands. Often these messages are ones of war, with many Tribes following the Shamans instructions of going to a particular location where other tribes shall gather and form into another Waaagh! The Greenskin Gods :“It is possible that Mork and Gork are not Daemons, or names for the Blood God. It is certain that they are just as much of a threat to civilisation as the hordes of the North. I concern myself with consequences, not with semantics.” ::—Kristena of Rechtlicht, Priestess of Verena. There is no shortage of lesser deities or strange cults that catch on amongst the highly superstitious Orcs and Goblins. Far above any mere fetishes or minor idols, however, are the real powerhouses of the greenskin pantheon, the boisterous and belligerent brother-gods known as Gork and Mork. Greenskins do not call upon Gork and Mork for aid when they are in trouble, nor do Orcs and Goblins beseech them for gifts, such as softer or punier races might do. Instead, these war-gods and their infamous deeds serve as inspiration. Gork is brutal but kunnin' and his brother Mork is kunnin' but brutal. Every greenskin has complete and unquestioning faith that if he is brutal and kunnin' enough, he will join the gods after his death and continue the fight. The power of their gods is made visible to the greenskins in many ways. The almighty phenomenon of the Waaagh!, that almost spiritual calling to war that fills every greenskin with frenetic energy, is the will of Gork and Mork made manifest. Shamans, as greenskins call their wizards, are also directly connected to the gods. A Shaman can tap into that green power to blast foes or rouse greenskins to greater heights of violence. Clearly, however, such communication with the gods unhinges the minds of every Shaman. This explains their unusual rituals, trance-fits and other such shamanistic oddities. Greenskin Beliefs There are as many strange beliefs among orcs and goblins as there are greenskin tribes. Various night goblin clans grovel before one or both of the moons, forest goblins are reputed to worship massive spiders the size of houses, and some orc tribes revere any unusually shaped rock outcrops as gods. However, there are two deities worshipped by all greenskins: Gork and Mork. Gork epitomises the brutal warlike aspect of the greenskins, while Mork represents their animalistic cunning (though it is often the other way round). Faith in these gods manifests as a terrifying phenomenon known as the Waaagh!, particularly when large groups of greenskins are gathered together. The smell of blood and taste of danger can cause greenskins to explode in a mindless frenzy akin to religious zeal. Waaagh! energy also empowers the greenskin shamans, whose destructive powers are believed to come directly with their gods, and are fuelled by the rage and violence of the orcs and goblins around them. Captives can be expected to be sacrificed and eaten (but not necessarily in that order) in honour of Gork and Mork, who are often represented by large piles of stinking dung shaped in their likeness. Twin Deities * Gork - is the primary deity of clobbering, smashing, breaking, killing and pummelling the rest of the world into submission. This is a notion that resonates strongly with the more warlike and highly volatile Orc sub-species, where their single-mindedness for violence and brutality often out-shadows their otherwise low cunning. * Mork - is the patron deity of cunning and shamans. Whereas Gork is most likely to clobber an enemy god in the face, Mork will happily wait until his enemy's back is turned before raising his club and belting him around the back of the head. It is Mork who is revered by the stranger and arguably more intelligent strains of Greenskins, the most prominent of which are the Goblins and Night Goblins. Trivia *''it was later revealed in Age of Sigmar that the Ogre deity known as the Great Maw was merely an aspect of Gork and Mork.'' Sources * : Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Tome of Salvation ** : pg. 128 * : Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition: Signs of Faith ** : pg. 29 * : Warhammer Armies: Orcs and Goblins (8th Edition) ** : pg. 11 ** : pg. 35 ** : pg. 72 es:Gorko y Morko Category:Greenskin Pantheon Category:Greenskins Category:G Category:M